# My first box of habanos



## Chris R (Jun 10, 2009)

I picked up my first box of habanos from a source I was recommended to by a friend at school. He told me that he and his brother have been using this source for years and have had no problems. So I figured I would give it a shot and hope they sent me the real deal.


----------



## aea6574 (Jun 5, 2009)

Very nice, Congratulations.


----------



## dyieldin (Sep 27, 2009)

Sweet!


----------



## Wigwam_Motel (Oct 25, 2009)

express puros you have they're . cool.


----------



## Magnate (Nov 27, 2009)

Wigwam_Motel said:


> express puros you have they're . cool.


how can you tell they are express?


----------



## z0diac (May 18, 2010)

They always look soooo tasty when they're lined up in a box


----------



## kRaZe15 (Jan 25, 2010)

nice pick up. were you able to find out if they are real? just curious i am interested in jumping into some cc's sometime.


----------



## dartstothesea (Aug 15, 2008)

I had me a ten year old Partagas last summer, and oh my god it was probably one of the best cigars I have smoked, if not the best.


----------



## Chris R (Jun 10, 2009)

Magnate said:


> how can you tell they are express?


That is a good question. Wigwam_Motel please shoot me a pm if you dont want to post it here.


----------



## Chris R (Jun 10, 2009)

kRaZe15 said:


> nice pick up. were you able to find out if they are real? just curious i am interested in jumping into some cc's sometime.


No not yet. I was hoping somebody would jump in if they were fakes.


----------



## kutzy33 (Apr 25, 2010)

Nice pickup!


----------



## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Chris R said:


> No not yet. I was hoping somebody would jump in if they were fakes.


Send me one and I can tell you right off if they are,,,lol. Honestly, there are several ways to know if they are fakes. The first is who is the vendor, secondly do a comparative exam of the contents of the box, labeling, etc. which you can Google just like there are websites that will show you what real/fakes look like. From the picture they look pretty good to me but I can't see what they look like up close and personal. I've smoked that brand before and they are very good cigars.


----------



## Chris R (Jun 10, 2009)

Cigary said:


> Send me one and I can tell you right off if they are,,,lol. Honestly, there are several ways to know if they are fakes. The first is who is the vendor, secondly do a comparative exam of the contents of the box, labeling, etc. which you can Google just like there are websites that will show you what real/fakes look like. From the picture they look pretty good to me but I can't see what they look like up close and personal. I've smoked that brand before and they are very good cigars.


Thanks for the advice. I was doing some of that last night and there was nothing that stood out that these are fakes but I plan to look at it a little closer.

Would it be cool if I sent you a PM telling you who the vendor was and you could tell me if they are the real deal or not?

Thanks for all of the kind words/advice everybody,

Chris


----------



## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Absolutely Chris...we're all about wanting to edumicate each other so we aren't being taken advantage of.


----------



## harley33 (Mar 27, 2009)

From 10,000 feet they look good to me.

:tu


----------



## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

Nice pick ups. The PPCE are a decent smoke but not my favorite from the Partagas line. They are a budget smoke but continue to be in my regular smoke rotation. If you can, put them away for a good 6 months. They don't smoke great ROTT, IMO.


----------



## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Tarks is right about them,,,try to hold off as these are too young to really enjoy and they might put you off if you smoke em right now. Many a new smoker to CC's make this mistake and smoke em like they have been already aged and then have a bad mindset about Cubans. 6 months wait is good,,,a year is 'gooder' IMO.


----------



## Chris R (Jun 10, 2009)

Tarks and Cigary, you guys are right about them needing rest. I could not hold off and had to light one up :lol: While it was decent it seemed rough and in need of a rest. 

Tarks, would you recommend the shorts over these? Even though they tend to cost more and you get less of a smoke. 

Thanks to the help from Cigary, my source was confirmed to real deal and now it place another order. Now I need to decide what I should pick up next. :hmm:


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Chris R said:


> Tarks, would you recommend the shorts over these? Even though they tend to cost more and you get less of a smoke.


I would. Party Shorts stand up to about anything. Very good smokes.

Don't sell the smaller ring guages and especially the Petit Corona vitola short. On the whole, it's my favorite.

Ramon Allones Small Club Corona
San Cristobal de la Habana El Principe
Vegas Robaina Famosos
Montecristo No 4
H Upmann Magnum 46
Bolivar Petit Corona

...and many other smaller sticks that are some of the best examples of the platform.

Your box looks good to me, but like the others said, give them a LOT of time.


----------



## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

Chris R said:


> Tarks and Cigary, you guys are right about them needing rest. I could not hold off and had to light one up :lol: While it was decent it seemed rough and in need of a rest.
> 
> Tarks, would you recommend the shorts over these? Even though they tend to cost more and you get less of a smoke.
> 
> Thanks to the help from Cigary, my source was confirmed to real deal and now it place another order. Now I need to decide what I should pick up next. :hmm:


Oh ya! IMO, the Shorts are a superior smoke, no question about it! I'm a pencil dick (small RG cigars) kinda guy!  The size of a cigar does not dictate price. My favorite rotation smokes are Party Shorts, Boli corona jr, Hoyo Palmas Extra. I always have a few boxes of each on the go. I would give up a limb before I ran out of those 3 cigars!


----------



## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

Also, I will add that a cup of coffee pairs up well with PPCE. Smoke it as slow as you can and the cigar will reward you.


----------



## BigKev77 (Feb 16, 2008)

Party Shorts are one of my favorite smokes. 

If you want a cheap budget smoke get you some Jose L Piedra. They are not the best thing in the world but I have been getting them for $1.50 a stick so for the money they are pretty good.

Is that mold in the very bottom pic?? very bottom of pic 1st stick. It kinda looks like it on my old crappy monitor.


----------



## jaydub13 (Jan 13, 2010)

Herf N Turf said:


> I would. Party Shorts stand up to about anything. Very good smokes.
> 
> Don't sell the smaller ring guages and especially the Petit Corona vitola short. On the whole, it's my favorite.
> 
> ...


Couldnt agree more. My experience with CCs isn't too deep, but I find that I LOVE the smaller cigars, particularly smaller RG. I would add Por Larranga Petit Coronas, Trinidad Reyes, any of the Le Hoyo du line, and Cohiba Siglo IIs to that list. But really, if you stay away from Guantanameras, there arent a whole lot of sticks coming from that ISOM that aren't great.

Congrats on your first CC box purchase! That is a very nice pick up!


----------



## Chris R (Jun 10, 2009)

Herf N Turf, Tarks, bigkev77, and jaydub13 thank you for all of the suggestions on the smokes to try next. I plan on placing another small order in the next few days so Ill make sure to keep them in mind when I order. I am going to go back and read some of the past threads on these smokes to get an idea of what I might like and what will be ready to smoke with less age on them. 

In my previous post I did not try and discredit smaller ring gauge cigars. I am a big fan of them  When I bought the PEC I thought I was getting more bang for my buck with them over the shorts but I guess I should have gone with the shorts. O well live and learn I guess ....

bigkev77 you had me worried for a min there. When I opened the box to look at them it was just what I think was a water spot on the wrapper and not mold. Thanks for pointing out to me though it would have sucked if it was mold and it was not noticed.


----------



## BigKev77 (Feb 16, 2008)

I didn't want to worry you but thought you should check just in case. I am glad it isn't. Enjoy!


----------



## BigKev77 (Feb 16, 2008)

Chris, I think I jinxed myself. I got a box of RASS in today and MOLD!!!!!!!!

Just my luck.


----------



## Chris R (Jun 10, 2009)

bigkev77 said:


> Chris, I think I jinxed myself. I got a box of RASS in today and MOLD!!!!!!!!
> 
> Just my luck.


That sucks! I hope it all works out for you.


----------

